Roadblock creates bottleneck of stranded migrants in Greece

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And now to overseas.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says that he will not allow his country to become what he calls a warehouse for refugees. And Europe's border agency is expected to send agents to Greece soon in an attempt to stem the inflow of migrants.

Currently, refugees from only the conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are being permitted to transit Greece to countries farther north.

But, as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports, there's now a roadblock on that trail, leaving many migrants from other countries with some tough choices.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Spanish lifeguards respond to a call from volunteers scanning the horizon on the cliffs of Lesbos. They're heading out to the channel to shepherd the flimsy inflatables to safety.

After several rough days prevented crossings from Turkey, the seas are calm. A flotilla of overcrowded rubber dinghies is using the shortest crossing between the two countries. The occupants have paid $1,000 a head for the journey. In the distorted economics of the migrant trail, safe arrival represents value for money, especially for Syrians like Hamza Hussein.

HAMZA HUSSEIN, Refugee:

You need to kill Bashar. They are killing people now. I am too — I can't speak now, please. Thank you.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

In the middle of the picture, you can see a lifeguard trying to help a refugee who has plunged into the sea 50 meters off shore. Mohammed Asti Mimi is an Iraqi, given priority by Europe in the new two-tier migrant trail.

MOHAMMED ASTI MIMI, Refugee:

Yes, I have been swimming. I have been swimming, because I thought was funny, jumped into water.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Having secured a foothold in Europe, the Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis are assured of a relatively swift passage to the destination of their choice. But all other nationalities on this beach have arrived as the gates have shut, after Greece's neighbor, Macedonia, said it would only admit people from these three conflicts.

Farmer Costas Bayotis, who helps the refugees ashore and salvages the rafts' components, disapproves of what he believes is a discriminatory system.

COSTAS BAYOTIS, Farmer (through interpreter):

In my opinion, all the world is suffering. If they're from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, or Bangladesh, they are all in the same situation and must be helped. They have all got souls. The politicians are more educated than we are, so let them try and come up with a solution for a better tomorrow for these people, the best possible.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Dawn at the next step on the migrant trail, Piraeus, the country's key port on the mainland, where, daily, ferries arrive carrying thousands of people, aiming to pass through Greece as quickly as possible.

The intention of most is to travel more than 300 miles north to Macedonia. At the ramps, scores of travel agents offer bus tickets to the border.

MAN:

Macedonia. Macedonia.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

But this is the ultimate destination for those who are not Syrian, Iraqi or Afghan: a fenced-off former Olympic martial arts stadium in Athens. All other nationalities have been transported here after last week's closure by Greece of a camp at Idomeni on the border with Macedonia.

Food is in short supply, and volunteers have struggled to pacify the newcomers.

MAN:

We are here to help you.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

"We are here to help you," called out a volunteer, urging everyone to stay calm.

MAN:

Help us. Don't push.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

It's been a venue for violence, stabbing, protests and arrests.

MAN:

Conditions are a problem. There is a sleeping problem. There is a food problem. There's a big line. That people are from Morocco and all these countries. Yes, the fighting is a problem.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Outside the stadium, we met 22-year old Tassdaq Hussain from Pakistan, one of those deported from Idomeni last week, when Greece acknowledged that Macedonia wouldn't compromise over its wide-ranging ban.

TASSDAQ HUSSAIN, Refugee:

But now I have no idea how to go to Germany and other countries, because this border is sealed for us and Iranians and some countries. We request to European Union and other countries, help us and please try to open the border for us.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

In common with other excluded nationalities, Hussain's options are to seek asylum in Greece, leave the country within 30 days, or be repatriated with a small financial grant.

If the government gives you money to go back, will you go back?

TASSDAQ HUSSAIN:

How much money do they give? We have spent more than $4,000, more than $4,000. They give us 400 euros. This is too much — little. This is the main problem. Many People have sold all his fields, his animals, his house, and like this. They have no business here. If they have good — why come here? If anybody is comfortable in their country and their homeland, why come here?

MALCOLM BRABANT:

In the Greek Parliament, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, once a supporter of open borders, made it clear that times have changed, as a result of Macedonia's ban and European pressure.

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, Prime Minister, Greece (through interpreter):

It is true that, if this influx continues, there is a danger for the country to be turned into a warehouse for immigrants. Well, the country must not and will not become a warehouse. We welcome the establishment of a European Coast Guard. It is welcome, and the Greek forces will contribute.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Europe's reinforcements will arrive at a time when Turkey is supposed to be stemming the flow of migrants, in return for more than $3 billion and a promise to speed up the process of joining the E.U.

But the large number of boats landing in Lesbos has left some analysts like Ioannis Papageorgiou wondering what Turkey is doing for its money.

IOANNIS PAPAGEORGIOU, Political Scientist:

I think it's a disgrace that we have to suffer — suffer blackmail from Turkey as the European Union, but it's realpolitik. I'm not sure that they will be able to fulfill their side of the bargain. And I'm not also sure that the European Union will fulfill its side of the bargain either.

MALCOLM BRABANT:

Many of those people now arriving in Lesbos face real frustration, because it looks as though the migrant trail has been severed.

Greece's neighbors, Macedonia and Bulgaria, are effectively blocked. And the only other possible available route over land is Albania. Now, that nation is mountainous. It's freezing cold in winter, and overall is much more dangerous than any other Balkan country. But the traffickers are considering opening that up as the next possible option, even though they're well aware that people may possibly die there.

But, having survived the game of Russian roulette that is the sea crossing from Turkey, the refugees have become used to making calculated risks. The hope of finding safe haven and relative prosperity keeps driving this historic movement of humanity.

For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Malcolm Brabant in Lesbos.